Critic Reviews

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94

Coming Soon Magazine

Steve Meretzky, for those who aren't familiar with his name, was one of the creative forces behind Infocom during its heyday. The writer of such memorable titles as Planetfall, Sorcerer, A Mind Forever Voyaging and Leather Goddesses of Phobos and more recently Hodj 'n' Podj and Planetfall: The Search for Floyd is back with The Space Bar. As one of the innovators responsible for creating "interactive fiction" one could reasonably expect something of exceptional quality from someone who's been doing it for as long as he has. As far as I'm concerned, he's lived up to his reputation in this latest production.

Space Bar is a brilliant piece of adventure gaming from the 90’s. It is clever, imaginative, tough and funny; in one word “loads of fun” (ok, in three words). Its complex worlds, stories and brain-challenging puzzles are from an era that, unfortunately, seems to be over. If you haven’t played it, rush and do so ASAP! Yes, it has its nuisances and a few puzzles go overboard, but this can all be forgiven (except for the really short time limit in the bar that is very frustrating, puts a ton of pressure on the player and can end up making playing stressful instead of relaxing). But its amazing world and fantastic characters will have you immersed and wanting to come back for more.

One note, this is a very difficult game. Beginner adventurers will more then likely become quite frustrated due to tough puzzles and situations. My guess is that even the most experienced adventurers will be scratching their heads at times. This is compounded by the fact that this is a timed game, you have a limited amount of time to solve the crime. The puzzles, while difficult, are logical for the most part. Inventory items are not difficult to find, it's figuring out how and when to use them that is the challenge. Not to mention the culture shock at playing the game as an alien or robot. The Space Bar is a very worthwhile game due to it's excellent story, wonderful humor, and challenging puzzles. It may be frustrating at times, but it is well worth your time and money. Bottom Line: A very funny and challenging adventure game. Interesting puzzles, great characters, lots of diversity. The interface is a little clumsy, but serviceable. Way too much disc swapping.

The Space Bar is truly a well-conceived game, and the overall experience of playing it is really fun. The humor, gameplay, and enticing atmosphere work together to keep most adventure game players highly entertained for days. Although it does not dramatically advance the state of the genre, it somehow harkens back to the depth and complexity of the old games that put more emphasis on plot than on multimedia pizzazz, and so I highly recommend it for lovers of adventure games and unusual creatures.

80

Computer Games Magazine

Die-hard adventurers and brave others should ignore the nit-picking and rush out to buy The Space Bar (and leave he Tab Key alone). It's a puzzle parfait from heaven. But be sure to pick up pencils, pads and perhaps a few sheets of graph paper, these and your analgesic of choice. Take two before the Zzazzl flashback. Trust me.

While it is a disappointment that Rocket Science and Boffo Games fail to exploit that alien cantina premise a bit more, the triumphant aspect of The Space Bar is that it is a true gamer's game. It recalls the depth and general feel of the best text-based adventures of old. You are compelled onward not so much by storyline and character as by a desire to crack a master designer's code, to see how weird and devious the next obstacle will be.

I imagine that die-hard puzzle gamers would enjoy The Space Bar, particularly if they can get on-board with the Science Fiction theme. Although the printed materials proclaim this to be a humorous title, I did not find myself being terribly amused by the game’s sense of humor. Although visually stimulating, I found myself frustrated at times in not getting the game to do what I wanted it to do. If this is a good sign for a puzzle game, then so be it. One particularly annoying activity is the necessity to constantly swap CD’s in and out of the drive. This is a 3-CD title, and I was required to swap to another disk virtually every time I entered or exited a new conversation. This activity is even addressed in the game manual, with an entire three-paragraph page devoted to the subject. Basically, The Space Bar is a cup of tea with a very attractive flavor. However, when considering my personal frustration level and disk swapping annoyances, it’s just not my cup of tea.